Tips on Dyeing Hair Extensions

Lifetime of human hair extensions vary from a few months to a few years depending on the type and quality of the extensions. Human hair extensions that are permanently sewed in to your real hair usually last for a few months and often up to six months. In the lifetime of a hair weave, it is natural to want to change its color to match with your new look. Is that acceptable and can you change the color of hair extensions as you please?

Sampling

Human hair extensions are the same as one’s own hair and therefore anything you can do with natural hair can also be done with these extensions. So as with your own hair, it is possible to dye and heat style natural hair extensions.

When coloring (dyeing) hair weaves, Strand Testing is critical for the safety of the hair extension. This test basically confirms whether or not the dyeing process can damage the hair weaves. The dye must be prepared as per directions and then applied to a small portion of the hair extensions first for testing. Allow several hours, ideally 24 hours to see the effect and then continue with dyeing the rest of the hair. A lot of companies allow you to order samples of hair extensions that you can test with even before actually buying them.

Virgin Hair Extensions

Perfect hair type for coloring are the  Virgin  Hair Extensions. This type of hair would’ve never been chemically processed before you receive them and hence should be ideal for dyeing. Coloring of virgin hair extensions is much like doing them for natural hair and a lot of care must be taken to protect them from harsh chemical agents. Most other types of hair, especially synthetic hair, are unsuitable for dyeing as they tend to become really weak because of exposure to chemicals and dyeing them will irreversibly damage your hair extensions. Reiterating that strand testing is the best method to prevent damage from dyeing.

Lightening effect

Lightening is more difficult and risky than darkening. Lightening usually requires bleaching hair extensions which can really damage the hair extensions. To avoid bleaching, you can directly dye the darker hair into the color you desire, but that usually leaves a tint of dark shade. The hair ends up with shades of slightly orange. However, re-doing the coloring over and over again should remove the orange shade and eventually get you to the light color that you had wanted. Usually you need three iterations to obtain the perfect match. Colorings will have to be repeated in intervals of a few days.

Risks of Bleaching

If you still decide to bleach, you could use a stripper or eraser first. In general, for black hair, applying stripper twice reduces it to brown. Allow some time between using the stripper and bleach so the hair is not damaged too much. Get a good brand of bleach and prepare the solution using instructions on the box, and then soak the hair extensions in the prepared solution. Let it soak for a little while before washing away the bleach. Always remember that this process could severely damage the hair extensions and you may be required to apply bleach a few times when lightening hair. So follow the instructions carefully and pay close attention to any usage warnings. You could also try a toner to help with any left over tint after coloring.